


The Villa

by DeathRainbows



Series: The Villa [1]
Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII (Video Game 1997)
Genre: AVALANCHE gets a vacation, Aerith lives because I said so, Caprisuns as deadly weapons, Chaos' worst enemy: the bathroom door, Cid just wants to have a good time but he got roped into looking after all these dumbasses, Cid smokes what else is new, Cloud hates Rufus for no apparent reason, Cloud runs a delivery service that's all I stole from AC, Costa Del Sol beach house except Rufus ruins everything, Drinking, Everything in the original ff7 is canon, Friendship, Gen, Humor, I hope it's funny, Monopoly but Shinra made propaganda out of it, Nanaki is Cloud's emotional support animal, No Cloti because I have an intense dislike of that particular ship, No there is not enough beds and it's not sexy, Oneshot, Really Awful Sunburn, Replace Advent Children with this, Rufus can seemingly teleport there I fixed canon continuity, The AVALANCHE friendship fic I don't see anywhere else, You know the 'there's only one bed thing'? That but with the bathroom., Yuffie is the worst and also the best, hopefully, talking about love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-10
Updated: 2020-08-10
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:14:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25813396
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeathRainbows/pseuds/DeathRainbows
Summary: Legally speaking, the villa at Costa Del Sol belonged to Rufus Shinra. Technically speaking, Cloud had bought it fair and square, so Rufus could suck it.
Relationships: Minor Rude/Tifa, Unrequited Tifa Lockhart/Cloud Strife, mentions of past Zack Fair/Cloud Strife, mentions of the fallout of that
Series: The Villa [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1872889
Comments: 7
Kudos: 29





	The Villa

**Author's Note:**

> I never see any AVALANCHE fics? Everything is always focused on like, Crisis Core or whatever. Never any love for the original game.
> 
> So I wrote this: AVALANCHE takes a week off at the Costa Del Sol two years after Meteor. 
> 
> Murphy's Law Applies: Everything that can go wrong, will go wrong.

After Meteor, it was chaos. Most of Midgar had been completely destroyed, not counting the slums, which meant most of the business centers were in ruins, the reactors promptly shut down to prevent any surprise explosions from the damages incurred on them, and many idle hands were left without work to occupy them. This meant that gossip was essentially a must to get through the day.

Word quickly spread of AVALANCHE and their role in the crisis, though who it had originated from, no one knew. Regardless, the news of an odd group of misfits traveling around the Planet to stop the rumored killed-in-action General Sephiroth and prevent Meteor had been through the wringer in a game of telephone, where none of those passing along the whispers had any semblance of what had actually happened. Thus, the true version of events would be lost to propaganda and exaggerated falsehoods. Caricatures would replace the unlikely heroes who had originally banded together in the name of settling personal grudges and collectively giving a huge ‘Fuck You’ to Shinra, and time would march on with little regard to the personal lives of the party. Which is why, perhaps, future news broadcasts and specials on Meteor fail to mention the annual reunions.

* * *

Honestly, it was probably Aerith’s fault. Once the dust had settled across the globe, it was she who called them together again, with no explanation besides the meeting being ‘urgent’ and ‘important’. Guns blazing and weapons shining, they had barged into the Sector 5 church. Unfortunately, no monster was growling or howling, leaving them to conclude Aerith must have called them together to help her pluck weeds.

The girl herself was kneeling in the flower bed, perking up once she noticed their arrival. She pushed herself up out of dirt, smiling at the group of terrorists currently standing rather awkwardly between the pews. Happiness shone in her gaze.

“Hello~!” She greeted.

A murmur of acknowledgement swept through them before Cid stepped forward, the usual cigarette dangling from his lips along with the bitter old-man expression of annoyance.

“Not that I ain’t happy to see you damn kids,” he said, gesturing with his spear, “But what the hell is goin’ on here?” He raised an eyebrow at Aerith.

She giggled behind a closed fist, quickly lowering it to her side as she took them all in contentedly. “It’s time for the reunion, of course.”

Cloud froze from where he had been idly staring at the flowers, “The what?”

Aerith waved a hand at him dismissively. “Not like that, silly. A reunion for Avalanche!”

“I… _do_ you remember you mentioning something about that,” Tifa admitted, “I just didn’t think-”

“You tellin’ me I left Marlene for this?!” Barret interrupted, fuming, “Damn, girl, just what’s goin’ through that head o’ yours?”

Aerith laughed again. Yuffie pushed herself forward. She was still short compared to the rest of them, but she had already grown in the year since Meteor. “So, is it gonna be, like, a party? Because if not, I’m outta here.”

“Well, that’s actually what I called you all here to discuss,” Aerith explained cordially, “The year is almost over and we haven’t even seen each other since Meteor. I thought a reunion would be a nice idea, but we don’t have anywhere to hold it.”

“Why not here?” Barret asked gruffly, “You already got us all together, we just need a couple drinks and-”

Vincent, ever quiet, bled into view without a sound. “No,” he said decisively, “It’s too small.”

“Exactly,” Aerith nodded at him, “Vincent’s right, this place can’t hold all of us _and_ a party. The flowers would definitely be trampled!”

Tifa crossed her arms, eyeing Cloud from her periphery. “Hey Cloud, didn’t you buy-”

Cloud stood up, brushing soil from his pants, “Yeah. The villa could probably hold all of us, and Costa is a vacation town anyway... “

Aerith clasped her hands together gleefully, “Then it’s settled! But for now, since you’re all here- could you help me take care of the bugs? They’re _awful_ this season.”

* * *

Another year passed before they could finally meet up again. Tifa closed down the bar for a week while Cloud put a hold on orders for the delivery service. Marlene was coming with Barret and Shera with Cid, but there were enough rooms that it (hopefully) didn’t matter. Cloud had the basement renovated as a side project, leaving two bedrooms and the living room with a daybed and two couches. 

Cloud ran over the numbers in his head. Shera and Cid to one bed, he got his own, Tifa and Aerith had agreed to share another, Barret wouldn’t allow Marlene to have anything _besides_ her own bed, which meant… four beds were taken. Nanaki would most likely sleep on the foot of Cloud’s bed, as he had when the group stayed at inns during their journey. Reeve himself couldn’t actually attend, but Cait Sith would be coming. For some reason, Reeve had _insisted_ Cait get at least a couch. Cloud grudgingly complied. That left Barret, Vincent and Yuffie with the living room. Cloud would leave it to them to split up the remaining two sleeping spaces. At least he wouldn’t have to put up with Barret’s snoring anymore. Gaia knows he had gotten enough of _that_ from the tents.

* * *

**Night of Day 1**

The Highwind touched down outside of Costa at nightfall. The sun was hanging low in the sky, painting it deep purples and blues as it sunk beneath the horizon, orange beams reaching far above their heads to offer the last bits of light of the day. Cid had spent the entire day flying around the globe to pick them all up, leading to one extremely irritable pilot that Shera had discretely attempted to calm down with copious amounts of tea. The group finally disembarked, trudging into town as their suitcases and other luggage dragged in the sand behind them. Cloud, the lucky bastard, had brought his gold chocobo along to carry everything for him.

Yuffie eyed his ride enviously. Cloud noticed her and raised an eyebrow accordingly, the barest hint of a smirk on his face. Yuffie pointedly stuck her tongue out at him. 

Tifa watched them from the corner of her eye, a small smile on her face. She glanced up at Cloud, still somewhat exasperated at the memory. “You know, I still can’t believe we had seven days until Meteor hit and you somehow convinced us to spend five of them at the Gold Saucer.”

Cid laughed loudly beside her, taking a quick draw of his cigarette, “You and me ain’t got no reason to complain, Tifa girl. We were racing those shitty chocobos almost as much as the kid was.”

Cloud leaned over, drawing his gold chocobo up beside them and laying tiredly on its neck. “We were basically rolling in gil. There wasn’t any reason _not_ to use it.” The implication of splurging due to Meteor went unsaid, but the mood still dampened.

Attempting to lighten the suddenly somber atmosphere, Aerith hurriedly jumped in, “Well, the gondola ride was fun. Right, Cloud?”

Unfortunately, that was not the right thing to say. The party froze and dead silence permeated the air. Cloud sensed he was in danger.

“Cloud, I thought you only asked me on the gondola ride…?” Tifa asked, somewhat hurt.

“No way, he asked me too!” Yuffie shouted, dropping her luggage in the sand to put her hands on her hips.

“What the hell, Spiky?! You tellin’ me yo’ dumbass took all of us out on that fuckin’ gondola?” Barret growled loudly. Marlene yawned in his arms, shifting uncomfortably in her sleep, “Sorry baby,” he muttered.

Cloud winced under the collective might of AVALANCHE’s glares. He could feel Vincent’s quite literally burning into the back of his neck, and was half sure the ghost of one of his demons was breathing heavily over his shoulder.

“...It wasn’t like that.” he finally admitted, attempting to placate them, “I just thought that everyone needed to do something fun, and we were there anyway-”

“Aw hell, who the fuck cares? I was asleep anyway,” Cid grumbled, slinging an arm around Shera. The tension slowly fizzled out and Cloud could breathe again. His face had turned bright red, much to his dismay (and to the amusement of everyone else).

“Whatever. It was kind of a lame date anyway,” Yuffie sighed, slinging her bag over her arm.

Nanaki chuckled beside her, but he flicked his tail over Cloud’s leg as he walked past, causing him to hiss at the sudden burning sensation. “Frankly, Cloud, if it _was_ a date I would be more concerned.”

Aerith came up beside Tifa, laughing softly. It was nice, to just be with everyone again (and to pick on Cloud). The gate to Costa Del Sol arched above them as they walked into the town, hard-packed sand colored darker in the twilight.

Cloud dismounted, patting his chocobo affectionately on the neck. He unslung his bags, led Chico to a stable, and joined them back at the front gate, gesturing for them to follow him up the nearby front steps. He fished out his key while Barret huffed impatiently behind him. He shoved it into the lock, turned it, and-

“Well, I wasn’t expecting to see you here.”

And there, lounging on the bed directly in front of him, was Rufus Shinra.

* * *

After all the time spent running around the globe in search of them, it wasn’t any wonder why AVALANCHE usually kept their best materia and ultimate weapons close. As such, since they already had so much luggage, Cid had arranged to have it all transferred to the Villa in the (likely) event that trouble rose up during their vacation. 

Cloud, to his credit, spent only about half a second in shock before chucking his suitcase at Rufus. Rude, promptly appearing from nowhere, caught it effortlessly. Barret, catching a glimpse of the invader from over Cloud’s shoulder, gently handed Marlene to Tifa before roughly shoving past Cloud and cocking his gun-arm, the only weapon the group currently had on them.

“The fuck are you doin’ here, Shinra? Ain’t you supposed to be dead?”

Rufus shrugged. It looked rather silly, especially since he was wearing only a pair of swim trunks. “Well, yes, but actually no.”

“The FUCK is that supposed to mean?”

“Barret!” Tifa hissed from behind Cloud. Marlene stirred in her arms. After a tense moment of silence, Barret growled a colorful threat, backing off. Cloud crossed his arms, leveling a heavy stare at the presumed dead head of Shinra.

“What _are_ you doing here?”

Rufus smirked, “I’m on vacation, of course.”

Cloud sighed. “No, you’re not. You’re up to something.”

“Am I?”

Cloud stalked forward, “Yes, you are, but I’m not here to deal with that right now. Get out of my villa, or I’ll kick you out myself.”

“Your villa?”

“Yes, _my_ villa.”

“I believe you’re quite mistaken. The deeds clearly say, 'Property of Shinra', do they not? Tseng?"

Rufus' second-in-command abruptly appeared in the room. "Yes, Mr. President."

Cloud narrowed his eyes at Rufus' smirk. "I spent 300,000 gil for this villa," he paused, meeting Rufus' haughty gaze, "Get. Out."

"No."

Cloud clenched his fists. Outside the doorway, he could hear the rest of his friends grumbling about the hold up. He sighed, stepping aside (gesturing for Barret and Tifa to do the same), and crossed his arms as they piled in. There were various exclamations of shock (Cait Sith in particular let out a sound suspiciously similar to a hairball), but ultimately it was Vincent who decidedly ruined the vacation. 

"There aren't going to be enough beds," he observed.

"There will be, once Shinra gets his fuckin' ass outta here," Cid retorted from the back.

Vincent shook his head. "We are at a crossroads. Shinra has the deeds but Cloud already paid. Unless we go to court, we will be unable to settle this." His eyes swept across the room, "I propose a truce, if only for tonight."

Immediate protests erupted on both sides, ranging from Barret’s vehement insults to the minute widening of Tseng’s eyes. Tifa managed to push her way to the front, raising her voice but speaking calmly, “I think we should let Cloud decide. It _was_ his gil.”

Cloud opened his mouth to say something, but closed it, letting out a long-suffering sigh. Rufus, Tseng, and Rude were watching him closely. Cloud really, really did not want them here, but it was only for the night, right? They could handle a night.

“Fine.” He decided through gritted teeth. At the gleeful expression on Rufus’ face, he quickly added, “But only for tonight. Capiche?”

Rufus appeared to mull over the proposal for quite some time. 

“Goddamn Shinra,” Barret growled, turning to Cloud, “Why in the hell are you lettin’ those goons stay?!”

Cloud shrugged, “Don’t feel like goin’ to court this week.”

Barret grumbled loudly, but Vincent’s piercing gaze cooled his temper.

Rufus glanced at Tseng, who nodded. The President (or was it ex-president?) of Shinra cleared his throat to regain their attention. The usual smirk played at his lips as he cooly replied, “I think we can manage a night until you find yourselves another place.”

“It’s not gonna be _us_!” Yuffie yelled from the back, “But you can get a nice place in the reactor core for all I care!”

Cloud sighed for what felt like the hundredth time that day. “Moving on. We need to get groceries.”

“I’ll go,” Tifa volunteered beside him.

“There’s no need,” Rufus said, “I already sent Reno and Elena to take care of that.”

“...Did you?” 

“Yes.”

“Tifa, you can go for groceries.”

“Should I leave now, or…?”

“Take Rude with you,” Rufus interjected.

Rude leaned over as Rufus whispered in his ear. If Tifa wasn’t mistaken, a flush appeared on his normally stoic face. Tifa pushed her bags to the side and grabbed the gil Cloud held out for her. 

“Get me some swim trunks,” he whispered as she passed. 

She raised an eyebrow, “You forgot?”

At his stiff nod Tifa laughed, but smiled reassuringly as she waited by the door for Rude. He quickly joined her and they were soon on the streets, searching for the nearest convenience store or grocer.

“So, what brings Shinra to Costa?” she asked, attempting to make small talk. That, and she wanted to dig for information.

“...Vacation,” Rude answered.

“Same as us, huh?” She couldn’t tell Rude’s expression from behind his sunglasses, his mouth set in a neutral line.

An uncomfortable silence filled the air. Maybe it hadn’t been the best idea to try and chat with her former enemy, but honestly… 

She glanced at Rude from the corner of her eye. Perhaps she was okay talking to him because he hadn’t been directly involved with the plate drop, unlike Reno. Now that she thought about it, Rude had never actually attacked her, had he? No matter the circumstance… Was it some kind of gentlemanly behaviour? Why?

Tifa was snapped out of her thoughts by Rude clearing his throat next to her. She smiled, somewhat embarrassed. The grocery store was directly in front of them. Had they been standing here a long time? 

“Well, um, here we are,” she said nervously. Not waiting for a response, she pushed open the doors, mentally going through the list of things they would need for the next week. Oh, and the swim trunks (size small).

It was late by the time she had gathered everything and checked out. Rude had disappeared, presumably to look for Reno and Elena (this _was_ the only grocery store in town), she had a pair of chocobo-themed swim trunks Cloud would despise (or maybe not?) and armfuls of grocery bags (eco-friendly, of course). The trouble now was getting it all back to the Villa without making multiple trips. As a business owner and martial artist, Tifa hated inefficiency.

She quickly ran a hand through her hair, absently feeling over the loose braid. She was in her usual outfit today, but tomorrow she would try something a little different, a loose long-sleeve white shirt with her bikini bottoms. A few years ago, she may have wondered what Cloud would have thought of the change, but now… it was different. Between them. She had denied it, at first, but his continual dismissals of physical intimacy eventually forced her to acknowledge that he just _wasn’t_ interested. It had hurt, badly, but after two years the pain in her heart lessened to little more than a dull ache. Their relationship had suffered for that first year, Tifa angry and Cloud more withdrawn than ever. 

Now… it wasn’t the same, exactly, but it was close to the way things were. Now, Tifa was finally ready to move on. 

There also remained bigger problems. She gazed at the bags in frustration, wishing somebody were here to help her out. Where was Rude? Had everybody gone back without her? Tifa huffed in indignation. She flexed her biceps, checking that they hadn’t gone too soft since her last workout (which seemed to have been _forever_ ago) and scooped all the bags up in both arms. She kicked the door open and marched down the street, and though groceries seemed to tower precariously over her line of vision, most residents of Costa Del Sol could feel the aura of danger around her and retreated to safety.

 _Most_ residents. When Tifa brusquely opened the door to the Villa and carried everything to the kitchen counter, it was dead silent. As she set down the last bag and turned to face the scene in front of her, it was quite obvious why.

“ _What_ is going on here?”

One would think she could trust her friends to behave like adults when she wasn’t around. 

Apparently not.

* * *

Things had been going relatively well, room assignments excluded. The biggest problem had been the single bathroom in the house, which nearly caused a brawl to break out between Rufus and Barret over the amount of time needed to do the former’s hair-care routine. Cait Sith had thrown it’s luggage across the floor (why did a robot cat need luggage?) in an effort to search for a chore calendar before either man’s gun went off.

Reluctantly, both parties agreed to follow the time slots listed. Unfortunately, the line for sign-ups meant nobody kept an eye on Yuffie, who quickly decided to prowl around the house for trouble. Instead, she discovered a hot-tub.

Cloud mistook her shriek of joy as a shriek of pain, and abandoned his half-finished signature to search for her. His early time slot was quickly snatched by Nanaki, much to the dismay of everyone else who wished to take a bath. The fur in the drain would be an absolute _nightmare_.

Upon finding her discovery, Cloud quietly commented, “I didn’t know it came with one of these…”

This remark was heard by Rufus Shinra, who quickly claimed the prize as his own. “If you didn’t know about it, you didn’t pay for it. It’s property of Shinra.”

“Like hell!” Yuffie retorted, “First law of being a ninja: Finders Keepers!”

Bickering quickly broke out, escalating until Cloud chucked a pillow at Rufus in frustration. Tseng, brave bodyguard that he was, leapt in front of his boss and took the hit. Feathers exploded _everywhere_.

It was at this point Rude, Reno, and Elena walked in through the door. Upon seeing Tseng laying on the floor like a dead fish, Elena ran to the sofa and tore off the couch cushion, screaming expletives at Cloud for ‘killing’ her boss. Elena was no longer a newbie, but she still had to work on her aim, as the cushion flew over Cloud’s head and smacked Vincent in the face.

His expression was controlled, but it seemed his reflexes were not. Vincent’s claw automatically ripped into the cushion, hurtling it back towards Elena, who was forced to dive behind the couch for cover. The cushion flew through the doorway to the bathroom and hit the sink with enough force to slightly crack the porcelain. The house was dead silent.

“Maybe that’s enough-”

“PILLOW FIGHT!” Yuffie screeched.

It immediately devolved into chaos. Countless feathers drifted around the room, continually swept into orbit by the whirling fans above. Even the pillows in the bedroom weren’t immune, fluffy as they were, and were soon used as fortification against the enemy. Tseng quickly recovered from his K.O. with the help of a few potions, and set to work. AVALANCHE soon found he was frustratingly good at building unbreachable fortresses, leading Team Shinra to take over one side of the house. Aerith led the charge against them, followed by Nanaki and Yuffie. Cid was complaining to Shera in the corner about, “Those dumbass kids,” but anyone could tell his heart wasn’t in it. Pillow fights were childish, sure, but they were also fun as hell, and it gave them an excuse to knock down Rufus in his pasty, ugly swim trunks.

The fight quickly became more violent on both sides. Reno was knocking Barret around with his baton (Marlene was ‘safely’ watching from the corner), Aerith was engaged in hand-to-hand combat with Rude (though he was probably going easy on her), Elena was still attempting to escape from Vincent (who had been after her since the fight began with a single-minded focus on revenge), Cid was making himself some hot tea in the kitchen (as a drink or as a weapon, no one knew), Nanaki was viciously attacking a nearby pillow he had mistaken for food, Yuffie was hanging from the ceiling fan by the back of her shirt, and Cloud held a kitchen knife to Rufus’ throat while Tseng ran through the mess attempting to get to the President before an accidental murder took place. Given that he was constantly being buffeted by Yuffie’s wildly floundering legs, he was forced to commando crawl under Reno, tripping him up and allowing Barret to turn the tables, slide under Aerith and Rude, scurry though Elena’s path as he passed (allowing Vince- no, that was Death Gigas, wasn’t it- to catch up), and throw Nanaki’s prey out of his way in order to finally reach Rufus safely. It was at this point he launched himself at Cloud, executing a move similar to Back Control, where he wrapped his arms around Cloud’s shoulders from behind and hauled him off the President. Cloud was rather small, but he did have a knife, and he was stabbing behind him wildly in an attempt to fend off his attacker. Tseng quickly turned his head, nearly giving himself whiplash, and Cloud accidentally impaled the knife in the floorboards. 

It was this scene Tifa Lockhart walked in on. They fell silent. All eyes turned to her as the door swung open and she continued into the kitchen, depositing the bags onto the counter. She turned around, opened her mouth, and was subsequently shocked silent.

“T-Tifa, I can explain-” Cloud began, drawing his hand away from the knife at super-human speed.

Tifa sighed. He fell silent.

Aerith disengaged Rude, giving him a pat on the shoulder, and flounced over to Tifa. 

“Need help?” She asked, hands clasped behind her back.

Tifa sighed again, eyes roving over the mess in front of her. “It would have been nice.”

She unloaded all the food that would need refrigeration. The room was still silent. It was as though they were kids caught by a scolding mother, waiting for the ‘I’m-just-disappointed’ lecture. It never came. Once she finished putting most of the groceries away, Tifa pulled on her old fighting gloves and asked, “So who started it?”

* * *

It was several hours and bruises later that they calmed down enough to finally cook dinner. Midnight came and went. An hour after that, it was finally time to nurse their injuries and go to bed, but the question remained: Who was sleeping where?

“Marlene gets her own bed,” Barret told them firmly. No room for argument there.

“I want my own too,” Cloud asserted. Rufus Shinra ruining his vacation was almost worst-case scenario, he didn’t need a Shinra of all people stealing his bed. “Master bedroom.”

Barret growled beside him, “Nuh-uh! Ain’t no way in hell I’m lettin’ you sleep near Marlene!”

Cloud sighed, shrugging. “It’s my house,” Rufus opened his mouth, “Yes, it is, shut up Shinra. She can either sleep in the other bed in the master-”

“Then I’m sleepin’ in there with her, not you!!”

It had been a long day. Cloud was tired. He almost killed Rufus Shinra with a kitchen knife. He didn’t have the energy to argue with Barret.

“Fine. You take that one. I’ll take one in the basement. Who wants the other?”

“Cid and I will-”

“No, I want-”

“No one here cares what you want, Rufus-”

“I care.”

“You don’t count, Tseng. None of the Turks’ opinions matter-”

“You can’t do that, yo.”

“SHUT UP!” Shera screamed. At their bewildered expressions, she smiled politely, “Cid and I will take that one.”

Cloud rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Right. Nanaki, you want me or Barret?”

Nanaki yawned, flicking his tail lazily. “Ah, you. Barret snores terribly.”

Barret had the decency to admit it with a huff.

“Okay. That’s almost all of the beds.” Cloud turned to Cait Sith, “Reeve, you still want Cait on a couch?”

Reeve’s actual voice came through the speakers, “I- uh, no, it’s fine. Cait can survive shutting down by the wall,” there was some grumbling from the other end of the line, something about it being bad for the delicate circuits. Given the fact that Cait Sith had survived battles with just about everything and there were probably hundreds waiting in storage, one probably wouldn’t be remiss in thinking him a bit overdramatic.

“The last bed is for me and Tifa!” Aerith called. 

Cloud nodded to her. “That’s all of the beds, then.”

“Hold up,” Reno sauntered forwards, “Why do you guys get all the beds?”

Cloud crossed his arms, “Because _I_ bought the villa.”

“It belongs to the boss, he’s got the paperwork,” Elena interjected.

“ _Cloud_ , where am I supposed to sleep?” Yuffie complained.

Cloud rubbed the bridge of his nose, trying desperately to hold off the incoming headache. _A few more minutes, just a few more minutes._

“I guess Shinra does need somewhere to sleep,” he said begrudgingly, “You can take a couch.”

“ _A_ couch?”

“You heard me.”

“CLOUD!”

“Vincent, where do you want to sleep?” Cloud asked, ignoring Yuffie practically hanging off of his arm.

“Sleep is for the weak,” Vincent replied. 

“Alright then. Yuffie?"

“Hold on, Strife, you can’t just shove all of us on a couch and call it good-” Elena attempted to interrupt.

“Can’t I?”

“Cloud…” Yuffie whined.

“I don’t _know_ , Yuffie. Figure it out. Shinra, take the other couch.”

“That’s quite gracious of you,” Rufus replied smoothly, “But there _are_ five of us.”

Cloud pushed passed him, suitcase in tow and heading towards the stairs. “Figure. It. Out.”

Marching down hurriedly, Cloud quickly unpacked before anyone else could bother him. He was supposed to bring ‘vacation’ clothes, so his suitcase was mostly filled with loose t-shirts along with one or two pairs of sweatpants and jeans. He grabbed one of the pairs of sweatpants, quickly undressing from the loose pants he had on for most of the day (or morning) and shoving them on before Shera or Cid could come down. He threw on a loose blue shirt for good measure. Climbing into bed, Cloud quickly fell into a deep sleep-

That lasted approximately two hours before he was awoken by someone’s knee roughly shoving into- yeah, fucking _ouch_. Cloud peeled open his eyes, alert for threats despite his grogginess, and was somehow entirely unsurprised to find a ninja had snuck under the covers.

He roughly shook her shoulder. “Yuffie,” he whispered, “What. The. Fuck.”

Yuffie sighed in her sleep, smacking him in the face with her hand as she rolled over. Cloud, quite tired and especially exhausted due to the awfulness of the past day, unthinkingly pushed her off the bed.

“OW!” She screeched.

Cid and Shera’s bed creaked as someone sat up. 

“The fuck is all this fucking rukus about?”

“It’s Yuffie.” Cloud tiredly mumbled.

“You _said_ find somewhere to sleep!” Came a loud whine from the floor. Nanaki growled in his sleep.

“I did _not_ mean with me.”

“But Cloud, that’s so unfair! Everyone else has to share except you!”

“Go bother Barret, if that’s the excuse.”

“I can’t, I’ll wake up Marlene!”

“You woke me up.”

“That’s different.”

“...How?”

“Marlene doesn’t deserve it.”

“Shut the _FUCK_ up, you two. Yuffie, get back in the goddamn bed and sleep, you brat.”

“Hey! How dare you talk to the Great Ninja Yuffie like that!”

Still, Yuffie climbed back in bed, much to Cloud’s dismay. Nanaki resettled himself with both pairs of legs now poking under him. Cloud was starting to believe the universe truly had it out for him, when even his vacations were being ruined. Cid laid back down and Yuffie once again fell into a fitful sleep, but Cloud couldn’t help staring at the ceiling in existential dread. At some point he finally acknowledged that he wouldn’t be able to get back to sleep, and so swiftly scooted down to the end of the bed, performing something like a one-handed handspring to jump over Nanaki soundlessly. He began sifting through the clothes that remained in his suitcase, eventually pulling out the pair of chocobo swim trunks Tifa had bought and promptly thrown at him once the mess from the pillow fight was cleaned up.

He shuffled quietly up the stairs, careful to keep his footsteps light. This place had a hot tub, right? Cloud shimmied his sweatpants off and pulled on the trunks. Even though they were a small, they were unfortunately slightly loose due to his waist size. Zack had always- nope. He didn’t want to think about that right now at- he squinted at the clock on the wall, the shine in his eyes casting just enough light that he could unfortunately tell the numbers read four in the morning.

Emerging from the stairway, Cloud pulled his shirt off and crept through the villa barefoot, wary of creaking floorboards and squeaky doorways. Finally, he arrived at the patio. He quickly pushed the sliding door open and stepped out into the warm night air, closing it silently.

“Yuffie?” Came the voice of a submerged, fully clothed Vincent behind him.

Cloud snuck to the side of the tub.He carefully lowered himself in, closing his eyes while willing the water to soak away his worries. “Yuffie.”

Surprisingly, there was a quiet chuckle from beside him. Cloud cracked open a curious eye at Vincent. He met his gaze calmly, appearing far more relaxed than usual (which honestly wasn’t much).

“She’s changed.” Vincent said, to Cloud or himself or the night air.

Cloud looked up at the cross beams in the wooden ceiling, then out to the peaceful sea. “Yeah. They all have.” He unconsciously made a face, “But even though she’s a little better now, Yuffie’s still Yuffie.”

The hot water and jets were doing their job. Cloud felt his eyes lull. He was vaguely aware of his hair feeling heavier than usual, but it wasn’t really noticeable. Vincent’s gauntlet was glittering from the dim light on the ceiling above, causing Cloud’s half-closed eyes to unconsciously transfix on it.

He didn’t notice Vincent’s piercing stare. “You’ve changed too. You’re… different.”

“Happier,” he heard himself murmur, “Happier than I have been for a long, long time.”

In spite of all the shit that had happened to him, the least of which (today) was that the thought-to-be-deceased Rufus Shinra was probably asleep in his living room, Cloud found himself content. The Planet was finally calm, the people were slowly healing, and here he was, in Costa Del Sol, among friends he wouldn’t trade for anything. He loved them all, truly, deeply. Except Shinra. Fuck Shinra.

It was with these thoughts in his head that Cloud fell asleep, dozing peacefully as dawn soon broke the horizon.

* * *

**Day 2**

The villa woke to the sound of screaming.

“I swear Tifa, I’m gonna shoot his spiky ass to hell and back! I’m gonna do it, just you fuckin’ watch!”

“Barret, please, you need to calm down. It’s only a bruise-”

“I don’t care that it’s only a bruise! He’s gonna pay for hurting my baby girl-”

“What’s going on…?” Cloud asked, pushing open the sliding glass door and stepping inside.

“Barret, stop!”

Tifa was unable to hold Barret back as he advanced dangerously towards a _very_ sunburnt Cloud.

“Marlene’s got a bruise on her face and it’s yo’ fault, so you better have a damn good excuse for leaving yo’ damn shirt on the stairs.”

“Is she okay?” Cloud asked worriedly, glancing around Barret to scan for Marlene.

Marlene was sitting at the kitchen table, nursing a bag of ice over her cheek. “I’m fine, Cloud!” she assured, “Daddy’s just overreacting.” She giggled. “Don’t be mean to Cloud, it was an accident.”

Barret appeared to calm, due to both Cloud’s concern and his daughter’s further assurance of her wellbeing. He glared at Cloud, “Better get it through that spiky-head o’ yours to use a laundry basket, ya hear?”

Cloud nodded reassuringly. With much grumbling, Barret went to go check on Marlene, much to his daughter’s amusement. It had been as though her dad had suddenly gained super speed the moment he heard his daughter’s cry, and despite the fact that after she calmed down Marlene had assured him she was fine at _least_ three times, he continued to fuss over her in a manner that would make any mother hen jealous.

Cloud waddled over swiftly to Tifa. At that moment Reno emerged from the living room. He looked an absolute mess, but he had to gall to whistle at Cloud as he walked to the bathroom, entirely disregarding the time-slots pinned on the wall.

It wasn’t like he didn’t have a reason. Cloud was wrinkled with an uneven tan from the water, and he was wearing swim trunks to match his haircut. His face was burned red beyond belief, putting the Ruby WEAPON to shame, and on top of that his hair was sopping from the steam, dripping onto the carpet and hanging low around his face. When Aerith poked her head out from the living room she couldn’t help giggling, in spite of the fact that her makeup was smeared around her eyes and her hair was frizzing out in every direction.

“Looking good, Cloud!” She called.

Impossibly, Cloud turned a deeper shade of red.

While Tifa helped Cloud sort out the fiasco that was his appearance, Aerith gathered her things to wait by the bathroom. A half hour passed. She knocked on the door impatiently, “What are you doing in there, Reno?”

“None of your business, yo,” Reno shouted through the wood

“Well, hurry up!”

Another half hour passed. There was now a long line by the bathroom, and Aerith grit her teeth as she politely ignored Cid going off behind her. Tseng waited by the wall, his hair still unnaturally smooth even this early in the morning. It was eight o’clock when Yuffie ran up from the basement, pushing roughly past Aerith and pounding on the door.

“Let me in!” she cried angrily.

Of course it was at that moment Reno decided to finish and allow Yuffie to dash in, causing a collective groan of annoyance from those who had been standing there for the past hour. Cid threw his hands up, “Fuck this, I’ll shave at the bar.”

Aerith knew she probably had a sour look on her face when Reno passed by to grab his vacation clothes from the living room, but he paid her no mind. So, when he passed by again to the kitchen, she discreetly stuck her leg out, shifting the rest of her body to make the pose seem more natural. It worked (though probably only because Reno hadn’t had his coffee yet), and he fell face first onto the carpet. She stifled a giggle and looked at him innocently when he glared at her. 

“You got something you wanna say?”

“Nope.”

Reno narrowed his eyes, but picked himself up without further complaint, a rather impressive display of self-control coming from him. After an eternity, Yuffie flung open the door to the bathroom, performed a front flip down the stairs to the basement, and finally allowed Aerith to gratefully take her place.

When she emerged, the line had shortened considerably. The only ones milling about were Cloud, a barely burnt Vincent, Tifa, Nanaki, Barret, and Marlene. Even Cait Sith was gone from his spot by the wall.

“Where’d everybody go?”

“To the inn,” Cloud shrugged, “Apparently they have a public bathroom.”

Tifa stretched briefly, loosening her stiff muscles, and began to fix her hair. All of them were still in their pajamas (it appeared Barret had indeed kept the sailor suit), and they still needed to decide what to do for today. But while they waited for everyone to get back…

“You wanna throw all of the Turks’ stuff out the window?” Tifa asked Barret.

He grinned. “Hell yeah."

“I’ll thank you not to destroy my property,” Rufus said, once again mysteriously appearing for the sole purpose of annoying them.

Cloud shrugged. “I don’t see a problem.”

Rufus’ personal entourage chose that moment to come through the open doorway, Cid, Shera, Yuffie, and Cait Sith in tow.

“Can we get ‘em, boss?” Elena whispered, squaring up.

Tseng looked to Rufus, who surprisingly shook his head. 

“We’re on vacation, remember? Even if it doesn’t _seem_ like it.” He said, with a pointed look at Cloud.

Cloud crossed his arms. “Please get out of my villa. Truce is up.”

A look of annoyance flashed across Rufus’ normally placid face. “I’ve already told you, it’s _my_ -”

Tifa, who had not come here to fight (but if the opportunity presented itself she totally smash her fist into Reno’s face), interrupted them. “Look, that’s getting a little old. Cloud, I really don’t care if they stay here another night, but please don’t put me in the same room as them again. For now, can we please just try and have a little fun?”

Cloud glanced at her, “If they stay, you and Aerith can take my bed in the basement. Barret…?”

He looked at his friend uncertainty. Of all of them, Barret probably had the loudest opinion when it came to airing his grievances with Shinra. 

Barret gestured for Cloud to follow him, nodding at the rest of AVALANCHE to follow suit. They entered the master bedroom, where Marlene was brushing her hair by the mirror. Barret patted her gently on the head as they passed. She smiled up at him, before noticing her hair had just been mussed up _again_. With a mock cry of alarm, she set back to fixing the locks in place. Barret watched her pridefully, before turning to the rest of the group, which had formed it a semicircle around him.

Tifa whispered first, “I already told Cloud that I don’t mind, as long as Aerith and I don’t have to sleep in the same room as them again,” she shuddered at Aerith’s nod, “Reno and Elena were gossiping _all night_. I have no idea how they’re functioning.”

“Where did Rufus sleep?” Nanaki asked curiously.

Aerith and Tifa exchanged glances. “I… don’t know,” Aerith said, her expression quite haunted for someone who could commune with the Planet, “He just kind of… disappeared.”

That raised a few eyebrows. Cloud cleared his throat, “Moving on, the question is: Are we going to let them stay another night?” He looked pointedly at Barret.

“I… want to fuck up Shinra, fo’ sure,” Barret said to them slowly, puzzling it out for himself, “Man, these are the Turks. They dropped the goddamn fuckin’ Plate but- I- They let us go during when we went to stop that shit-face Hojo, remember? They didn’t want to fight. And at Wutai… I jus’ don’t know.”

Aerith nodded, worrying her lip, “I know how you feel. It’s… complicated.” Of all them, Aerith probably knew the Turks best, or at least knew Tseng the best. She took a breath, “Personally, I’m okay if they stay another night.”

Cid ran a hand through his hair, “Shit, I don’t care. Do you damn well like.”

Yuffie rocked back and forth on the balls of her feet, “Well, they kind-of helped in Wutai, so I don’t care either.”

Cait Sith bounced on his moogle, “Same here.”

Nanaki huffed, “It doesn’t matter to me.”

Cloud sighed, “So we’re gonna let them stay?”

Barret shrugged, eyes glued to the floor, “Guess so.”

Cloud stood up, “Right. As long as I don’t have to see Rufus for more than five minutes at a time, that’s fine.” 

He took a breath before continuing, “Now, uh, anybody have any idea on what they wanna do today?”

“Beach,” was the chorus that answered him. Cloud looked at his sore, painful, Ruby WEAPON colored arms. _Do it for them._

“Let’s mosey, then.”

The groan he got in response was well worth it. Cloud ducked his head, hiding the small smile on his face.

* * *

An hour later, the chairs and sheet for tanning were gathered, the cooler packed, the snacks purchased, the sunblock applied, the umbrellas grabbed, and the sunglasses lost and found, they were on their way to the pearly white beach Costa Del Sol was famous for. Rufus and the Turks had apparently brought their own supplies, stored who knows where, and were _supposed_ to be taking a spot far, far, away from them. Tifa and Aeirth setup the chairs while Cid struggled with the umbrellas, complaining loudly all the while he was too old to be doing such things while at the same time adamantly refusing help. Barret was practically hosing down Marlene with spray-on sunscreen while everyone else was stripping down to their bathing suits, minus Vincent who was somehow able to stand being dressed in full gear. He held up a black umbrella to hide from the sun, further reinforcing suspicions of his vampiric nature. Cloud wore the swim trunks he had fallen asleep in and a loose white t-shirt, a startling change from the usual black. He was actually planning to nap after a couple of drinks, but alas, fate had other plans. 

While everyone else went out to swim or play in the ocean waves, Vincent stood under the umbrella under his umbrella and Cloud lay stretched on the beach chair, enjoying the lazy heat. It was at this moment Rufus Shinra’s entire tent of Turks dropped down next to them, the explosion of sand covering Cloud head to toe and positively _ripping_ into his sunburn. He was _so_ close to simply summoning Bahamut ZERO to end his troubles, but Vincent’s hand on his shoulder caused the fight in him to drain as the sad reality swamped over him.

 _Just let it happen._ It’s not like he could actually enjoy this vacation, right? Might as well take what the universe gave him at this point. With his luck, Rufus would somehow cheat death _again_ and he would have wasted all that mana for nothing. 

“Oh, Strife.”

“Rufus.”

“I thought we were supposed to be on opposite sides of the beach…?”

“I thought we were supposed to be on opposite sides of the ocean, but here we are.”

“Yes, coincidences can be quite strange. I never imagined _you’d_ turn up at _my_ vacation villa.”

“I can and will kill you with Marlene’s Caprisun straw.”

“There’s no need for that, but I’m not about to order Tseng to move the tent again. We’ll just stay out of each other’s way.”

Cloud shrugged in defeat, lowering his sunglasses. “I don’t even care anymore. Just don’t knock over my beer.”

He settled back into his chair while Vincent seemed to disappear, probably to sulk while looking for seashells. But try as he might, Cloud was unable to relax while knowing Rufus Shinra was in a luxury lounge chair right fucking next to him. His brows furrowed in annoyance at Rufus’ nonchalance at the fact he was actively ruining Cloud’s already abysmal sleep schedule. Thankfully, a distraction took his attention in the form of a volleyball game.

* * *

Tifa Lockhart was the kind of girl anyone would be lucky to have, at least in Rude’s opinion. She had many talents, including cooking, being a business manager, being beautiful, and being able to kick his ass. And those were only the tip of the iceberg. She was also kind, calm, shy, downright scary when the need arose, and most likely in love with Strife, which is why Rude had settled with the fact that she would never be into him.

During Meteorfall, he had first noticed her for her martial arts prowess, equal to and perhaps even better than his own. If the stories were right, she had also apparently suplexed Sephiroth and punched him in the stomach. It would have been foolish not to admire her. In the beginning, the admiration was for her skill, and then her looks, and then her personality. Yeah, Rude had crushed on her pretty badly. Unfortunately for him, it had been a known fact she and Strife were probably an item, and he never got up the courage to make a move.

The Turks were mostly busy tending to their mysteriously unhurt boss after the Diamond WEAPON attack. In the aftermath of Meteor, civilians were the top priority for Tuesti, meaning that the remnants of the old Shinra were able to go into hiding fairly easily. They still had power in many places, allowing for access to supplies and the like. The downside to this meant staying away from AVALANCHE _their_ top priority. Over the past two years, Rude thought his crush would have faded. Tifa and Strife would get together, he would be upset for a few days, then he would move on.

It hadn’t quite happened like that. Strife had apparently not been interested (a blessing in Rude’s eyes, though probably not so much for Tifa), and she had spent the next year angry and bitter with him. The following year they spent making up, and now there were very little hard feelings between them. This, of course, gave Rude the tiniest bit of hope that perhaps he would finally get his shot.

Which is why they were probably losing the volleyball game.

“The hell are you doing, partner?!” Reno shouted as Tifa once again spiked a volleyball over the net. Rude shook his head to clear it, diving to pass it back over. Aerith jumped to block it, knocking the ball back over. They volleyed back and forth for a bit, until Tifa was finally able to slam the ball past Reno into the ground. Rude could have caught it, he could have, but he didn’t.

“You’re off your game, yo,” Reno grumbled. 

Rude rubbed the back of his head. “...Sorry,” he mumbled.

Reno squinted at him a moment, before a sly grin slid onto his face. “I see what this is about, partner. You can’t hide it from me.”

Rude cleared his throat awkwardly.

“Boys!” Aerith called from the other side of the net, “Are you going to get the ball or not?”

Reno waved a hand at her. “Yeah, yeah, don’t get your panties in a wad…”

Aerith’s face pinched for a moment, before she turned to Tifa, a sickly sweet smile on her face. 

“You ready to _obliterate_ them, Tifa dear?”

“Gladly,” Tifa mirrored her smile. It morphed into a smirk. 

Rude glanced at his partner worriedly. AVALANCHE had never been push-overs, and though he didn’t like to admit it, they were probably going to beat them again. Reno didn’t seem worried, throwing the ball over the net. On the way over to the back of the court, he slapped Rude on the shoulder, and whispered, “Don’t let her win, yo. She’ll like you more if you can beat her.”

“...Really?”

Reno didn’t respond, only chuckling in that way of his that implied he knew _exactly_ what was going on, but had no intention to spill the beans. Rude stifled a sigh. Tifa cracked her knuckles. Aerith warmed up, juggling the ball between her hands, laughing to herself as she felt her limit break hit. Seal Evil really was quite useful.

* * *

Nanaki huffed, licking his nose. _Salty_.

The sun beat down on his fur, illuminating it a fiery red that blew gently in the breeze. His one good eye slid to Cloud, lounging uncomfortably next to Rufus. He absently rubbed a paw over his nose, reminded of the time Cloud had accidently kicked him in the face. _I don’t think he ever apologized for that either..._

Ah well. He rolled onto his side, panting heavily. The heat here had never really agreed with him. Nor the sand. Nor the sea. Really, if it had been up to Nanaki, they would have vacationed somewhere like... the Chocobo farm. Rolling green hills, calm winds, plenty of food- no, wait, he shouldn’t do that to Cloud’s prized birds. Even if that blue one looked far more tasty than anything he could catch by Cosmo Canyon.

Thinking of how delicious that chocobo has looked only made him hungrier. He slowly rolled back onto his stomach, taking it all in at a leisurely place. In spite of having to share a house with the remnants of the old Shinra, he had slept quite comfortably last night (though he was somewhat under the impression Cloud hadn’t). Nanaki padded out across the hot sand, growling as it burned the bottom of his feet. The shade of the umbrella was a welcome respite. Rufus once again disappeared, this time presumably to go for a swim. He idly wondered if Rufus had anyone to share things like that with. There were the Turks… but who else?

Nanaki gently flicked Cloud’s leg with his tail, notifying him of his presence, though he was sure he already knew. Cloud reached a hand down and Nanaki allowed it to gently pet his side. As a general rule, he didn’t like people to treat him like an animal, but with Cloud he never minded. He was always careful, and on bad days Nanaki knew it sometimes helped calm him. 

“Anything to eat?” he asked lazily.

Cloud opened the cooler with one hand, rifling through it for the cold meat he knew they had packed. He still wore his sunglasses, the glow only just slightly visible in the bright daylight. Nanaki leapt on top of Rufus’ lounge chair, making sure to kick as much sand onto it as possible. Let it never be said he didn’t hold grudges.

“Here,” Cloud tossed him a small portion of raw steak, making a face as the juices ran down his hand. Nanaki grabbed it mid air, laying down to gnaw on it. Cloud tore off a piece of paper towel from the roll they had brought, cleaning off his hand and placing the rest of the meat back in the cooler.

They sat in companionable silence, with only the sounds of Nanaki’s chewing and the rush of the waves on the shore as steady background noise to the relatively quiet beach. Nanaki closed his eye in content, moving down to lay on the sheet spread across the sand. His bangles jingled as he moved and turned this way and that until he lay comfortably on his side, the fire on his tail burning steadily on top of the white sand. He glanced at Cloud, who appeared to be watching the volleyball game between Cid and Shera versus Tseng and Elena in front of them. He could see the backs of Tifa and Rude, sitting closely together as the two apparently chatted amicably about something, while Aerith and Reno held a glaring contest a little behind them. Marlene was still playing in the waves, Barret hovering close by for supervision, while Cait Sith sat by the sea, a carefully measured distance away from the water, appearing completely still as he watched the horizon. Reeve was probably living viscerally through it from his office in Midgar, if not at the moment then he later. Reeve didn’t get out much, kept busy by his guilt complex and the troubles that ailed Midgar. Many residents were moving out, finding new places to live, but more couldn’t afford to move, and as such had to do their best to get by with whatever help he was able to provide. Nanaki wondered if Reeve would ever find someone to look at the ocean with, reclusive as he was. If _he_ could, then surely one day…

Nanaki turned his attention to the sea beyond Cait Sith. It was beautiful. Although he could travel down to the ocean by Cosmo Canyon, it wasn’t as though he could (or would) willingly waste time there. He kept himself busy caring for Cosmo Canyon, studying alternative energy resources and looking after the people within. After Grandpa had passed, he often found himself lonely. He only really felt complete these days when one of his friends came to visit. It would be nice to have someone there with him more permanently.

Cloud was still looking over to the volleyball court. Surely there wasn’t anything so interesting over there to hold Cloud’s attention for so long…? Tseng and Elena were winning, causing Cid to cuss up a storm while Shera laughed to herself, presumably about whatever insults he was spouting to the opposing team. Although, that didn’t seem to be what Cloud was looking at.

“Nanaki,” he suddenly asked, quietly, distractedly, “Do you think people can fall in love only once?”

Nanaki flicked his ear. “I don’t know. That would be sad, don’t you think? What would happen if one of them died? Is the other expected to live the rest of their life alone?”

Cloud turned away from the court, and it was at that moment Nanaki realized he had been staring at Tifa and Rude.

“I just… in Nibelheim we were taught that you marry once, for life. You’re only supposed to love that person, and once they’re gone, you shouldn’t marry anyone else. For Tifa, I- We weren’t married, and I never liked her the same way, but… I know she was in love. With me, I mean.” Cloud took a shaky breath, “I don’t want her to be alone for the rest of her life. Do you think she’ll let herself be happy, if she’s with someone else?” Cloud clenched his hands, “Gaia, she deserves so much better than me-”

Nanaki slapped him gently with his tail. Cloud’s sunglasses had slipped off. His eyes were watering. Nanaki pushed himself up to sit next to Cloud, laying his head on his lap. The beach chairs were quite close to the ground and the armrests low, allowing him a fairly comfortable pose with only a minor ache in his neck, front paws tucked underneath the chair and tail swishing in the sand behind him. Cloud closed his eyes to recompose himself, breathing heavily as he forced himself to stop crying. He rested a hand on Nanaki’s head, gentle in spite of his SOLDIER strength,and began idly scratching behind his ears. Nanaki purred absently, glad he could be of some help to his troubled friend. 

After a while the scratching stopped and Nanaki cracked open an eye he wasn’t even aware he had closed. Cloud was laying back in the chair, staring at the multicolored lights that shone from the sun hitting the umbrella, refracting into a rainbow of beautiful colors around them. His mouth was downturned, eyes were staring at something invisible.

“You’re fine the way you are, Cloud,” Nanaki gently reminded him, getting Cloud to look at him, “And Tifa is a prime female of your species. I’m sure she’ll be fine.”

“I just… Vincent-”

“Vincent is different. You and Tifa are on amicable terms, yes? She’s old enough to make her own decisions regarding her romantic life. If that means she only loves you, then that’s just the way it is. Though,” he angled an ear to Tifa and Rude, picking up excited chatter about martial arts tips, “I wouldn’t count on her being a lonely maiden for the rest of her life.”

Cloud smiled at him gratefully. “Thanks, Nanaki. I… think I needed to hear that. It’s just-” he blew a stray piece of hair off his face, “It’s been a little hard for her after Meteor, especially when I told her… well, you know. She’s been such a great friend to me, and I probably don’t deserve her-”

“Hush, Cloud. You deserve to be happy too, and that just means Tifa will have to move on.”

They once again fell into contented silence. Cloud stroked the top of his head, Nanaki purred (a bit more loudly than he would ever admit too), and Tseng and Elena were beating poor Cid and Shera into the nice sand in front of them. Cloud perked up without warning, causing Nanaki to jolt awake from his rather comfortable napping spot.

“Vincent,” Cloud greeted, not acknowledging that he and Vincent now shared the same Ruby WEAPON sunburn. Vincent nodded to him.

“...What happened to you?” Nanaki asked curiously.

“My umbrella blew away,” was the quick reply, before Vincent lowered himself into a nearby chair in tiny increments, clearly in pain.

“Shouldn’t only your face have been burnt?” Nanaki prodded.

He couldn’t tell if Vincent flushed or not. “It’s a medical condition. Probably Galian Beast’s fault.”

Nanaki didn’t have the want or energy to unpack _that_. Cloud was fishing through the snack bag, glancing up at Vincent and wincing each time one of his hands brushed something just a little too much for his burn. The mako usually healed cuts and laceration, but Nanaki had no idea what it was doing with something like a surface level sunburn.

“Want some Aloe Vera?” Cloud questioned. Vincent looked away but nodded. It appeared Cloud was eventually successful, and he pulled a whole bottle of the stuff out from the bag. It was almost comical in size, but at Nanaki’s expression Cloud shrugged. “I thought I might need it. Me and Tifa both burn pretty easy,” he smiled teasingly as Vincent took the bottle, still refusing to look at it, “And Vince too, apparently.”

All the talk about love had been floating through Nanaki’s mind as he dreamed. He moved his head and returned to the sheet on the sand, stretching lazily while careful not to puncture his claws through the thin material. He rolled onto his side, staring at the cooler (his mouth watered at the thought of another steak) and Cloud.

“Have _you_ ever been in love, Cloud?”

Cloud choked on his sip of beer. Vincent’s gaze sharpened as he looked at Cloud curiously.

“...Why?” He asked Nanaki, guarded.

Nanaki rolled his shoulders as well as he could, attempting to imitate a shrug. “When you asked me… no, this whole day, I’ve been wondering if I’ll ever find someone. I’m supposedly the last of my species, but I’ve recently found a trail that may lead to… something. I need to follow up on it when I get back.” He breathed heavily through his nose, mind wandering back to tracks he had found near Corel, “I have to wonder if I’ll find someone to have cubs with. I was curious whether you had ever thought the same.”

Cloud regarded him warily, eyes flickering between Nanaki and Vincent. He looked away, rubbing the back of his neck. Nanaki hadn’t meant to make him upset. His contented expression had fallen into something tired and so, so indescribably sad. Cloud’s lips pursed in a thin line. Vincent sat up in his chair, quick despite his sunburn. He appeared to want to say something, but Cloud shook his head. The wind teased his blond strands, ruffling it with non-existent fingers.

“I-” he swallowed thickly, shutting his eyes. He blinked at his clasped hands, once, twice, three times. He was older now, he should be able to say it. The words seemed stuck in his throat, but- He could do this. He knew he could.

“...Only once,” he admitted them quietly.

He lifted his head to meet Nanaki’s curious eye and Vincent’s steady gaze. It was Vincent who nodded to him, an unspoken, ‘I understand’.

There was a small, sad smile on Cloud’s face. His lashes lowered as he faced the ground, slightly bouncing his knee. He looked almost nostalgic, sitting there in his white t-shirt and swim trunks while the waves thrummed behind him. “I thought you might.” 

Later, when they were back at the villa, Nanaki would ask Vincent about Cloud’s statement. They all knew the story of Lucrecia, but young as he was Nanaki did not quite fully understand concepts such as love. Vincent was normally reclusive, but the bond between Hojo’s experiments was stronger than most. Nanaki was persistent when he attempted to shake him off, sniffing out his trail in a way impossible to most humans. He finally found Vincent on the back patio, and sat himself down next to him.

He glanced up inquiringly. Vincent glanced down, expression betraying nothing.

Nearly ten minutes passed before he slowly opened up. Vincent explained to him that when you loved someone, truly and deeply as he and Cloud (and maybe Tifa) had, and that person leaves you, you will always lose a part of yourself to them. It wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, he said, to Nanaki’s confusion. When you lose that part of yourself, it is not only a reminder of what you lost but also of what you had. That empty hole in your heart will exist forever, but eventually pain will no longer come with the thought of them. Instead, time will heal you, and someday you will be able to think of them with nothing but the good times in mind. Vincent said to him that Cloud was still healing, and he would be for a long time. There was nothing a Cure3 could do about it.

But perhaps, Nanaki thought as he settled down that night, this time at the feet of Tifa and Aerith, when the day came that the hole could be filled with happiness, Cloud would be able to smile freely again. 

In spite of what he had observed from his friends, Nanaki found himself wishing. He wanted someone to love, even if it broke his heart when they were gone. Because, according to Vincent, what you had with them would be worth _everything_.

* * *

Perhaps sensing the mood the question had put him in, Nanaki had nudged Cloud once with his nose to ask if he was alright. Cloud nodded to him, and he trotted off, in search of a shadier spot to rest. Vincent added nothing, staring into the sea with a look of contemplation. Cloud was grateful. Thinking of Zack always put him in a strange mood.

Cid and Shera lost terribly to Tseng and Elena. There was another match, this time Tifa and Rude versus Aerith and Elena. The former worked surprisingly well with each other. The same could not be said by the latter. And while he was thinking of it… where was Yuffie? Hadn’t she been thieving last time they came here?

Cloud slid his sunglasses back on. Out of sight, out of mind. If he didn’t see it, nothing happened. After the final battle, Yuffie had been given the duty of materia keeper. Of course, it was only honorary. Cloud may or may not have hoarded most of it for safekeeping. Some of it was here, in the villa basement, but in spite of the fact he was convinced Rufus was out to get him, Cloud didn’t really feel the need to use it.

After a few more matches it seemed it was time to go back. Rufus once again appeared to watch the Turks put the tent down and gather their belongings. Cloud simply treated it as a fact of the universe: If you saw Rufus Shinra, it was his perpetual state of being to be as unhelpful as possible. Cloud helped put the umbrella down this time (Cid was complaining about his back while Shera rubbed soothing circles on it). Everyone else gathered the chairs, sheet, bags and cooler. Barret was carrying a very sleepy Marlene, but he was still able to drag the cooler all the way to the villa, up the steps and into the kitchen. His talent as a beefcake and caring father was wasted on them.

Cloud slept in the living room with the Turks. Tifa was right, the gossip was endless, but Cloud was too tired to take note of anything in particular. After his shower he felt exhausted, and nearly collapsed onto the daybed. He didn’t particularly _want_ to keep note of Rufus’ disappearing (and reappearing) acts, but he felt forced to note the fact he was literally staring at the former Shinra president when he abruptly flashed out of existence before his eyes. Cloud closed his eyes, banishing thoughts of Shinra from his head. His dreams were of the nicer variety, filled with warm smiles and warmer hands as they hugged him tight and refused to let go.

* * *

Yuffie was the second to last one to shower. This meant there had to be problems, because _of course_. Uncaring of the fact she was only wearing a towel (she was the Great Ninja Yuffie, she had nothing to be ashamed of!) Yuffie barged out into the hall, and yelled, “NANAKI!”

He appeared around the corner, ears flattened. “What?” He asked in annoyance.

“You clogged up the drain, you furball!” she whined.

Nanaki turned around, flicking his tail irritably, “Get the drain cleaner, then.”

Yuffie ran around the house in search of Cloud, but she found nothing. She was about to barge into the living room, but a very irritable Cid blocked her path. 

“Don’t fuckin’ wake up the kid, Yuffie, he needs to get his goddamn beauty sleep. The fuck do you need?”

“Drain cleaner!”

“Drain cleaner?!” Cid crossed his arms, scratching his stubble in thought, “Don’t think we got any of that shit.”

“WHAT?!” Yuffie cried in distress. Cid shushed her hurriedly, glancing around to see if she woke anyone else up. When the only one who appeared was Elena, poking her head around from the corner of the bathroom, Cid sighed in annoyance that it was now up to him to deal with an obnoxious 18-year-old who should _really_ have been past this stage by now. Then again, it wouldn’t be Yuffie without ‘super important’ things happening at midnight that usually involved pranking someone and/or causing minor chaos.

Cid placed his hand on her shoulder, pushing her towards the door. He nearly dug out some cash to give to her, until he remembered that you couldn’t even trust Yuffie with a pencil sharpener. Cid knew he should have brought more cigarettes. He’d be out by tomorrow.

He slipped out the one he permanently kept behind his ear for emergencies such as this, quickly lighting as he continued to push Yuffie outside.

“Hey, Cid! I’m still in a towel!”

“Do I look like I give a fuck? It’s fucking late as shit, let’s make this useless trip quick. You’ll be fine, kid, now hurry your pasty ass up to the convenience store.”

The store was out of drain cleaner, to the surprise of nobody. Cid ran a hand through his hair, frustrated but fairly calm at the moment. _This is why I didn’t have any fuckin’ kids_ . _Damn weird-ass emergencies._

Yuffie, on the other hand, looked like she wanted to cry.

“I can’t believe you made me talk to the cashier in a towel!” she bawled.

Cid raised a brow, “Wasn’t it you who said you had no embarrassment or some shit?”

Yuffie puffed her cheeks out, “You shouldn’t take everything I say so seriously!” In an uncharastic display of self-awareness, she flushed, “I say some pretty crazy stuff.”

Cid pulled out another cigarette. “Might as well take the Highwind to the next town over. It won’t do any good to have the shower more clogged than Palmer’s ass on a bad day.”

Yuffie wrinkled her nose, rolling her eyes, but a boisterous laugh behind them alerted them to a third presence. Elena was bent over laughing in the street, still in her black sandy one-piece.

“The fuck are you here for?” Cid asked irritably.

Elena gasped for breath, wiping a hand across her eyes. She was red in the face when she straightened up, clearing her throat awkwardly while looking away. “Sorry, I just _hated_ Palmer, you have no _idea_ -”

“Elena, you’re not a newbie anymore, but you really need to learn not to spill so much, yo,” Reno interrupted, sauntering from a dark corner of the street, bouncing his electro-rod on his shoulder.

“Answer the question!” Yuffie huffed.

Reno sighed. Elena rubbed the back of her head, smiling nervously, “Well, when I heard that we ran out of drain cleaner, I ran out to go get some. Apparently I woke up Reno-”

“You were being _loud_ , yo.”

“Anyway, I came for the drain cleaner too.”

Cid closed his eyes, chewing on his cigarette. He spat out the mostly burned stick (he hadn’t even gotten to enjoy the cheap shitty thing) and ordered his makeshift crew to follow. “Let’s make a fucking midnight run to Corel then. Hurry the fuck up, I wanna sleep in a nice warm bed _sometime_ tonight.”

* * *

Four hours, a very frazzled pilot, and a trip to the Gold Saucer later they had their drain cleaner.

Elena shook in her seat, eyes haunted as she rubbed her arms. 

“I never want to see that man again,” she muttered over and over.

Reno stared at the ceiling in muted shock, absently fingering through his empty wallet. “At least it was only a swimsuit contest. Where the fuck did my money go, yo?” Tseng was gonna _kill_ him.

Yuffie cackled in her seat, in a much better mood than before due to the fact that she had mysteriously convinced Reno to blow his money on the arcade game. In spite of the fact she was shoved in a chocobo costume by Dio, she was honestly in the best mood out of any of them.

Cid gritted his teeth, moving his legs to try and fool himself he wasn’t going to get saddle sore. Two hours of racing that stupid bitch Joe and his fucking bird Teioh. He and Cloud’s own black chocobo sure showed that fucker. Though the victorious feeling continued to course through his veins, Cid was forced to acknowledge he would most likely be unable to walk for the next week. 

His crew that he had graciously woken up so early in the morning were hard at work attempting to keep both the ship and their eyelids up. 

“Nearly there…” Cid mumbled to himself, stifling a yawn. 

Three in the fuckin’ morning for drain cleaner. Some vacation this shitstorm turned out to be. 

* * *

**Day 3**

Most of them woke up late the next afternoon, with the exception of Marlene, and therefore Barret. It was two in the afternoon when Shera quietly ascended the stairs, quickly preparing a cup of coffee for Cid. Nobody wanted to acknowledge that Yuffie was hanging upside down from the ceiling in a chocobo costume, doing their best to ignore the feathers that occasionally fell onto their heads.

The other members of the overcrowded villa were soon brought into the waking world once again, willing or not. It was going to be a drinking day, Tifa could tell. The mood in the air was something between exasperation and exhaustion, so she left it up to the most energetic members of the villa to grab the alcohol, Tseng and Vincent.

Within this uneasy tension of brewing chaos and the lack of will to do anything about it, there came a suggestion to play Shinrapoly. Later, no names were officially given, but unofficially it was Aerith’s devious suggestion to play the most aggressive board game of modern history.

The rules were simple: Monopolize the energy industries (which included electricity, coal, oil, and mako) and resources (agriculture, steel, weapons, chocobos, and men) using the board of directors (certain players) in order to conquer Wutai. The twist was that there would be a player assuming the avatar of Wutai, who would also try to monopolize the industries. Nobody touched the bonus Sephiroth token. It wasn’t a nice game in the slightest, and in fact supported Shinra’s propaganda in exactly the way it was intended to. It was, however, fun, and Yuffie was living vicariously through her avatar by defeating Rufus and expanding Wutai to conquer the world.

Tifa was the one who decided to make a _real_ game of it. With the agreement of all players (Yuffie, Barret, Cloud, Rufus,Tseng, and Reno) it was decided that each one would bet on what they wanted to monopolize, then roll the dice. If they landed on the spot that contained the desired monopoly, no shot. Any other spot, a shot. Simple and easy, for all except Cloud.

“Are you purposefully losing, or are you jus’ bad?” Barret asked in annoyance after once again successfully conquering all of Cloud’s desired monopolies. The sullen look he received offered no answer. In spite of the fact he had nothing to lose, Cloud took a large swig from a nearby bottle of vodka. Reno’s eyes widened and he whistled lowly, “Damn Strife, you can really knock it back, yo.”

“Let’s play something else,” Rufus forcefully suggested after once again losing spectacularly to a cheering Yuffie.

Aerith, observing nearby, put a finger on her chin in consideration, “Hm… What about Never Have I Ever?”

At the groans she received she only giggled innocently, though something mischievous lurked in her gaze, “Come on,” she pouted, “Nobody ever takes my suggestions seriously!” 

Tifa rolled her eyes good-naturedly, smiling as she hummed in agreement. Cloud rubbed the back of his head. Reno looked positively malicious. Rufus was too far gone to care, and Tseng watched him to make sure he didn’t accidentally fall asleep in his chair. Barret had put Marlene to bed an hour ago at eight, meaning he was free to finally let loose.

“Fuck yeah!” he cheered, “Gather ‘round everyone, this’ gonna be good.”

Aerith was swaying on the floor unsteadily, but Cloud realized the _real_ trouble was coming when she smirked at him. Several rounds had passed and most of them were quite beyond the point of a pleasant buzz, with the exception of Cloud, who was struggling to get even the smallest bit buzzed.

“Never have I ever… crossdressed!” Aerith laughed giddily, quite drunk.

Cloud flushed, mind addled as he stared at the floor. Should he admit it…? _Damn, I_ knew _that was gonna come back to haunt me._

To one side of him, Tseng and Elena lowered a finger, taking a shot each. On his other, Yuffie did the same. How they had gotten Tseng to play was well beyond Cloud, but if he remembered correctly, it _definitely_ had something to do with Aerith (like most things). 

_Fuck it._ Cloud lowered a finger and to a drink, to the shock of the rest of party (with obvious exceptions).

Tseng stared at him critically for a moment, nodding decisively after a moment of consideration. “Yes, he’s telling the truth. He’s got the face for it.”

Aerith pouted, “Darn, I was gonna get him with that one!” She glanced at Cloud, “I didn’t think you would admit it!”

Cloud shrugged, yawning, “Nothing to be ashamed about.”

Barret was looking at him, eyebrow raised.

“What?” Cloud drawled.

“I’m trying to imagine you in a dress, Spiky, but it just ain’t coming.”

Cloud rubbed the back of his head tiredly, “I mean, I think I still have most of the stuff at my place. If you wanna come over-”

Barret blushed, burying his face in his good hand, “T-that’s not what I-”

“I think it would be quite… interesting,” Rufus commented beside him, smirking in spite of the fact he was very nearly wasted. 

Cloud slid his gaze over him in annoyance, “Look me in the face Rufus.”

Rufus glanced at him.

Cloud furrowed his eyebrows, “No, _look_ at me.”

Rufus stared at him intensely, “What?”

“Bitch.”

Tifa clapped her hands loudly, “Alright, boys, enough of that. Who’s next?”

Rude was next to Aerith, but he passed his turn, leaving it to Tifa. Tifa hummed, considering who to target. She tapped a finger against her chin, “Never Have I Ever run a trillion dollar company that’s ruined billions of lives and has turning a profit as its number-one priority.”

All eyes slid to Rufus, missing Cait Sith’s reluctant admission.

“Put your fucking finger down, Rufus.”

Rufus narrowed his eyes, slowly lowering his finger and taking a sip of his wine. Thankfully, it was his turn now. If they were going to play dirty, so was he.

“Well, then. Never Have I Ever been the leader of a terrorist organization that’s caused billions of dollars in damages and losses.”

Barret hooted in approval, gladly lowering a finger. Tifa grinned shyly, and Cid nodded, as though thinking to himself, Yeah, I did do that shit, didn’t I?

Rufus flicked his hair out of his face, feeling rather petty after all the insults. “All those lives endangered or lost…”

He deserved the punch.

Barret was well aware of his past wrongs, thank you very much, and did not want to have them thrown in his face by the ex-president of Shinra, of all people.

When Rufus woke up the next morning, he wasn’t sure if the headache was from the drinks or Barret’s gunmetal fist.

* * *

**Day 4**

Vincent was taking a shower when the sink exploded. The shock mostly came from the fact it had taken so long.

Still, it was enough to finally tip over his limit break. Chaos cheered in his mind, loud and annoying as always. Vincent sighed as he let the transformation overtake him, Chaos cheering loudly as he was finally freed. 

* * *

The hissing in the bathroom should have been the first sign, but Cid attempted to ignore it as he swung the door open. The fact that he almost walked into Chaos’ chest should have been another. He was finally forced to acknowledge the situation when his boots and shirt were promptly soaked by the broken sink in the corner.

Cid, grouchy as he was, held no fear as he glared into the eyes of Vincent’s strongest demon. 

“The fuck did you do in here?”

No response, the Lord of Darkness simply glaring down at him in silence. Cid ran a hand through his hair. He lifted his boot, studying the water marks marring the sides of them.

“This shit’s been running for over ten minutes!” He exclaimed grouchily, “Why in the hell didn’t you tell anyone?”

On another, off-hand note, Chaos was positively drenched head to toe, normally magnificent wings dripping onto the puddled floor. His eyes were looking pointedly away from the door. Cid glanced around, curious as to what could have possibly felled Chaos, of all things. Seeing nothing obvious, Cid sighed and prepared himself for the long trip to the Highwind. He needed tools, but he could probably fix this himself.

He closed the door to the bathroom on his way out, to Chaos’ dismay.

The Lord of Darkness crossed his arms, unwilling to give up. The door handle stared up at him mockingly. His frustration grew and grew, until it hit a boiling point. Vincent’s Limit Break hit it’s own Limit Break, unleashing Satan Slam on the door knob that dared to ridicule him.

* * *

“What in the _FUCK_?!”

Cid couldn’t leave for five _fuckin’_ minutes without Vincent’s _dumbass_ leveling the villa.

* * *

Cloud was _over it_. On the first day, Rufus Shinra (who was supposed to be dead, _no_ he hadn’t forgotten), had decided to crash his villa. Fine. On the second, his crippling insecurities and sunburn decided to ruin what would have otherwise been a fairly nice day at the beach. On the third, he had to play Shinrapoly, and he couldn’t even get drunk enough to forget his losing streak. And on the fourth, this. His villa, utterly destroyed. His head, pounding in spite of the fact he hadn’t been able to even get a good buzz. His money, about to go down the drain from paying for the inn.

_Sorry, Vincent. This is gonna hurt._

* * *

“I have to say, I don’t know Strife all that well, but isn’t this a little excessive for him?” Rufus asked curiously, watching Cloud Quadra Summon Knights of the Round on Chaos, screaming in frustration as he leapt into the air for an Omnislash.

Tseng nodded severely, “Indeed.”

It wasn’t just him. Cid, on his way into town, dropped his tool box and ran into the ruins of the villa, intent on digging through the basement to find Venus Gospel. Yuffie was already running into battle, waving Conformer wildly above her head as she yelled a battle cry. Barret had shielded Marlene from the debris, but he had fury in his eyes, glowing with protectiveness and rage as he prepared to unleash Catastrophe. Cait Sith’s autopilot, unhelpful as ever, was yelling commentary and instruction from the side lines.

“And he dodges the third round of summons, sorry Cloud! Maybe you’ll have better luck with Comet!”

“Oh, Chaos takes a blow from Barret’s Catastrophe, that looks like it did a number on him!”

“Poor Yuffie, her Level Three break is better than her Level Four! It’s okay Yuffie, you’ve got enough Materia to make up for it.”

“And Cid goes at it again, jumping higher in the air than should be possible for someone of his age. Don’t look at me like that, Cid, focus on his weak spot! That’s right folks, even demons have-”

Reno grabbed Cait Sith by the scruff of his neck. “That’s enough, cat.”

He glanced up to the sky, then over to Tseng, “...Should we help, yo?”

Tseng shook his head, “No. Focus on minimizing damage. Costa Del Sol is still an important revenue resource and port for Shinra.”

“Will do, boss.”

Rude stared at Tifa as she punched Chaos so hard she caused an explosion. 

_What a woman_.

* * *

**Day 5**

Vincent woke with a start, sitting up in the soft inn bed alert and ready for action. Cait Sith, with Reeve’s voice coming through the speakers, urged him to lay back down somewhere beyond the edge of his current awareness. His whole body ached, worse than the usual pain that came after a transformation.

His throat was dry. A glass of water was proffered and he gladly grabbed it, sipping greedily. Everything soon came into focus. His friends were crowded near the back of the room, watching the television in the corner on a number of makeshift chairs.

He licked his lips absently, acquainting himself with the room. It was an inn room, one he recognized from their first trip through Costa Del Sol. Recollections of the past day were vague and spotty, but there was something about a bathroom…

“Vinne’s up!” Came Cid’s gruff voice. There was a general low greeting, but it appeared they were all distracted by something on the television. As Vincent pushed himself out of bed and walked forward to them, cape swishing behind him, he noticed they were all holding controllers of some sort.

“...What’s going on?” Vincent inquired.

“We’re playing Chocobo Racing,” Cloud informed him, squeezing his remote a bit too hard as his green chocobo crashed into a wall, “Damn it, Barret!”

Barret cackled, “Better pay attention, Spiky! You’re gonna get yo’ ass kicked.”

“Ass kicked! Ass kicked!” Marlene cheered beside him. Barret’s eyes widened in a way that screamed No-Wait-Not That, the expression one of purely parental origin. He whispered to her, “Don’t you repeat that, darlin’.”

Shera offered him some cookies she had bought at the convenience store, but Vincent declined. He settled onto the wall, closing his eyes to soak in the relaxed air of the room. Chaos was groaning from his beating, but Vincent was glad that his friends had at least been able to work off some of the frustration that had been brewing during their week-long stay.

Cloud sighed as he lost again. For a supposed Chocobo racer, he was quite bad at the game. 

“May I try?” Vincent asked. Cloud passed him the controller wordlessly. Rufus and the Turks, it seemed, were gone, which had apparently done wonders for the mood of the party. The room was quiet as AVALANCHE watched the intense race on the screen. Yuffie cheered loudly for Vincent, purely to annoy Barret, of course. It was dark outside, stars glittering over the ocean. The only light in the room was from the television screen.

Still, as Vincent passed the finish line, he gazed around the room. Happiness was glowing on the faces of his friends, lighting up the room the way a lightbulb never could. For what felt like the first time this week, they were all there, together and relaxed as they simply enjoyed each other’s company. 

Something beautiful bloomed. 

* * *

**Day 6**

The white flower was a surprise, laying there innocently on the bed. Tifa studied it curiously, twisting it between her fingers. No thorns, just petals and stem with a little note attached. On the white stationary was a number. Tifa had a guess as to who could have left it for her.

She called the number, twisting her hair between two fingers. She felt young again. Physically, she wasn’t old at all, but in truth she often felt much too weary for her age. To call someone you may be crushing on was a schoolgirl activity, but it made her smile easily in a way she hadn’t for years.

It went to voicemail. 

“Hey Rude, it’s Tifa,” she said, “I wanted to let you know you can drop by the bar anytime you want. Drinks will be on me, alright? Hopefully I’ll see you soon.”

She ended the call, staring at the phone with a smile she wasn’t aware she was wearing. It was small and sweet, but it spoke of new things growing. The future didn’t have to look bleak, after all. It was a matter of perspective.

* * *

Reno glanced at the rearview mirror, watching the small green orb his boss held dance between his fingers.

“What’s that, yo?”

Rufus smirked, “An Exit Materia. I bought it the day we arrived.”

Reno blinked. 

“Reno!” Rude warned beside him. He jerked back the cyclic control to level the helicopter. Setting it to auto-pilot, he twisted in his seat to stare at his boss disbelievingly. 

“You mean all that teleportation shit-”

“Yes.”

* * *

**Day 7**

Cloud jerked up in his beach chair, clenching his fist tightly. He glanced at Marlene’s Caprisun in consideration. 

“Not worth it,” Vincent said beside him.

Cloud sunk back in his chair slowly, lowering his sunglasses and folding his hands across his stomach. “Yeah, your right.”

He stuck a hand into the bag beside him, digging out the very important papers that had started the whole mess.

Vincent’s eyes widened. “You didn’t…”

Cloud smiled, “Yuffie!”

She poked her head out of the sand trench she had made, “Whaddya want?”

“You wanted to practice your fire magic, right?”

“Yeah…?”

“I got some kindling.”

“Sweet!”

Faster than either could blink, Yuffie grabbed the papers and began excitedly equipping her mid-level materia. Cloud smirked at Vincent. Nanaki sighed between them.

Life was good.

**Author's Note:**

> Well, this was really fun to write. Having interactions that don't normally happen (i.e. Cid and Yuffie, Nanaki and Cloud) are really interesting to figure out. This came out a bit more serious than I first intended, but I hope there was enough humor the lighten things up. Honestly, having Rufus ruin everything was helluva fun to write. The Turks are suffering but they love him in all his smugness. Yes, irony is the point of ‘sleep is for the weak’. It’s Vincent’s personal mission to never sleep. His eye bags are awful.
> 
> My only goals were to have AVALANCHE bond and make you laugh. Tell me if I succeeded in the comments? Thank you : )


End file.
